Posted on 05/19/2007 5:36:59 PM PDT by Scutter
Although I think there is a lot of reason to doubt the safety of such drugs and to be concerned that they are over prescribed, I also question the validity of many of these anachdotal stories.
In a way its like saying that heart medicine is killing people because so many people on heart medicine get worse and die.
I keep reading stories about anti-depresent medicine causing someone to commit suicide, but the clinicly depressed are more likely to commit suicide in the first place.
Indeed ... and anecdotal evidence in a case where there are already serious problems is hardly the example upon which to build a regulatory regime.
Brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for posting.
On the other hand......there are those that couldn’t lead any kind of life without those drugs. I just finished a rotation at our local State Hospital and was amazed at how many schizophrenics snapped back to reality with their meds. They keep them for 90 days to make sure there aren’t bad side effects....then send most to halfway houses to be monitored for various lengths of time, afterward. The biggest problem is compliance by the patient ...once they get out. They feel alright and don’t think they need to take the meds... and subsequently spin out of control. Very sad.
I have a 10 year old daughter with brain damage. She’s different (speech problems, auditory problems, temper problems), but she’s also doing great. She should be very disabled in a wheelchair, but we just went to a track meet that she was in. She didn’t do great but she did it.
We’ve had doctor’s mention drugs to us because of her temper, but I have hesitated. So far, discipline and age has helped.
At first doctors didn’t think she had brain damage, but I knew something was wrong. Then when they saw how much brain damage she actually had, they were surprised that she could even walk.
Since they know so little about her brain the way it is, how can they possibly give her drugs. I don’t think that most of them know what drugs would do to her.
I hope she can maintain herself as she gets older.
(She’s also going on her first over-night trip without me on Monday, and I’m so worried about how she is going to do.)
“In reality, crazy is like war. It’s tedious for long periods of time, until it turns around and is devastating. It’s random, senseless, all-consuming, financially draining, destructive, ugly, sickening and gross.”
I have lived with crzy and I can say that this is a vey accurate description.
This is a very well written article. I’m very happy these people were able to get good help for their son. Mental illness is the worst.
thanks for posing this.
This struck me:
“He told his dad about how he had to fight the bad thoughts that were crowding in his head. And when he wasn’t out walking, he slept a lot.”
My neighbor was a bit depressed. She didn’t have autisim just going through some hard times. Her doctor recommended an antidepressant. She reluctantly filled it and read ALL the fine print - especially the side effects. Sure enough after an hour of taking it she had this thought that wouldn’t go away. She described as like having a pie in the oven and needing to get up and turn the oven off to avoid burning the pie. The thing is, her thought was not about a burning pie but the word SUICIDE kept creeping into her mind.
She talked to herself till the drug wore off. She was strong enough to fight it and knew it didn’t agree with her chemistry. I forget it if was Zoloft or Prozac ... one of the popular ones doctors push like candy. Boy, did she let her doctor know that under NO CIRMCUMSRANCES did she want any more of her “antidepressant drugs.
“In Minnesota, psychiatrists collected more money from drug makers from 2000 to 2005 than doctors in any other specialty,” the Times reported. “Total payments to individual psychiatrists ranged from $51 to more than $689,000, with a median of $1,750. Since the records are incomplete, these figures probably underestimate doctors’ actual incomes.”
It’s not just psychiatrists that push this shit. GP’s and others push this shit like crazy. It messes up your mind. It plays with the chemicals in your brain.
All I can say is that it is NO WONDER that people are OUT OF CONTROL. Notice that every single shooter in a high school shoot out had or was on an “antidepressant”.
One doctor literally scared the crap out of her and signed her 15 year old daughter for ELECTRIC SHOCK TREATMENTS and ZOLOFT. He readily admitted that he didn’t know the effect of a developing brain but this would stop her from suicidal thoughts. LOL!
She’s NEVER been the same since. She’s very screwed up. She’s in college now, majoring in “art”.
worth reading
Yes but misdiagnosis is also common. Does that mean avoid doctors? I would say if something doesn’t work, get a second opinion or three or however many to get it right.
SSRIs ?
I’m like Michael Savage. I believe a lot of the hacks in DC are on psych meds and other meds that alter their mind in unhealthy ways. I’m dead serious. Arlen Spector would be one. McCain too
I tried Zoloft with instant bad effects from one pill - extreme agitation, bowels turned to water. On the other hand, Paxil worked wonderfully.
Mrs VS
I wonder what meds this freak was on? Too many monsters out there lately.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273942,00.html
‘...Notice that every single shooter in a high school shoot out had or was on an “antidepressant”...’
More specifically, an SSRI (such as Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac). Suicidal and homicidal “ideation” is a side-effect of these drugs, but is particularly pronounced in young men. Research has yet to explain why, it would seem that hormones are involved, as brain chemistry and hormone production obviously are inter-related (as is blood sugar).
Yet most doctors don’t give parents any warning signs to look for. Anyone on a drug like this, should be talking daily on the phone to the psychiatrist and answering a litany of questions about how they are feeling, eating, thinking, etc, so the indicators are caught before the person acts out the suicidal/homicidal promptings.
Often the diagnosis is not correct to begin with. Someone comes into the doctor “depressed” but really has bipolar, shizophrenia, or something else, which SSRI’s greatly make worse, such as triggering mania. Or they don’t have the type of depression that can be helped with SSRI’s to begin with.
Most doctors, especially general practitioners, do not have the knowledge or training to diagnose or treat brain disorders or mood disorders. But somehow instead of making referrals, they prescribe these powerful drugs. If they get financial ‘kick-backs’ that could explain why, and seems quite unethical to me.
Thank you for posting this article. I have an 18 y.o. son with Asperger’s syndrome who is struggling with sleepiness and a loss of will and focus. It’s very hard to tell how much is a neurological problem and how much is chosen behavior, some of both I think. But you have given me some things to research.
Mrs VS
Unfortunately, many people reading this will think all psych meds will make patients “crazy”. This case involves a misdiagnosis of a rare condition.
This one is getting bookmarked. Thanks for pinging me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.